


Android

by Anjelle



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Brotherly Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 20:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2361146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anjelle/pseuds/Anjelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An android is found abandoned, and Sabo takes it upon himself to house and repair it, and replace the internal battery. However, it's his brother who's there when it finally wakes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Android

Luffy wasn't sure what to think when his brother showed up with an old, rusted hunk of metal. It wasn't much to look at, that was certain—with its dents and clear signs of age, left abandoned by its previous owner on the side of the road. 'It just needs a little fixing up,' Sabo told him, humming and smiling as he polished the surface of what was, well, its skin, he supposed.

In a way, with its eyes vacant like that, it looked kind of… creepy.

Within a week, his sibling had spruced the robot-guy up a lot, his skin now a smooth, untainted surface with a new matte coat of paint. Without the metallic sheen it looked… a lot less scary. A lot more human. And after Sabo slid its eyes shut that first night, Luffy found it didn't bother him so much. Actually, it was kinda nice because… when his brother was gone, it didn't feel as alone as it did before.

The elder of two had placed some parts on in his next order at the robotics shop—he liked to tinker, though it was normally with far less complex technologies—as the right leg was broken and immobile, and the censors for one of the eyes were all busted up, some of the skin melted slightly from overexposure to the summer heat… They could buffer it out, he'd said, but that would wait for when they had the proper equipment.

They'd gotten their 'guest' a new internal battery last night, and it was currently charging up. Luffy was left alone, and… he really,  _really_  didn't like being alone. So he pushed the creepy factor to the side and sat next to the cold, metal doll on their living room floor, flipping through channels on the television just so he could have some sort of noise.

He smiled. "Y'know my brother Sabo? He's gonna get you a new leg," he stated absently. "Then when you wake up you can walk around 'n stuff! Must suck that you can't heal, huh? 'Cause when I broke my leg, I couldn't walk for a while without crutches, and it  _reeeeally_  sucked! But then it got better. But… you can't get better, right? So you need new pieces. So… Sabo's gonna get 'em for ya!"

His rambling was met with silence, and he huddled further into himself, hugging his legs fast against his chest, expression falling into a clear show of his anxiety. From there he could see the dark overcast clouds in the window, and he shuddered. _Saboooooo… Get home soon…_

Luffy turned back to face forward, watching the darkness of the room be fought off by the bluish tinge of light seeping out of the television screen. He let out a shuddering sigh. "Being alone is… scary, isn't it?"

"…Yeah."

The boy's eyes widened slightly. Slowly he turned his head to the hunk of metal beside him, watching it blink slowly, staring vacantly ahead. He could hear the muffled, almost inaudible noises of the machines inside the metal case kicking on, starting up, and he wasn't sure whether to feel anxious or excited.

So he settled on neutral and grinned. "Hi," he greeted casually. "Did'ya sleep well?"

The android turned his head towards him, blinking, his good eye moving to register and document the human's face. He nodded. "I think so. It… feels better now."

Luffy tilted his head, scooting around to fully face his new friend. "Can robots feel?"

"I… think so?" It didn't sound so sure, but the inflection in its tone made it sound so…  _alive_.

The only thing that wasn't right was that metallic ping to its voice. Luffy hadn't seen a  _lot_  of androids—they could be expensive—but he'd been around enough to know that it wasn't supposed to sound like that.

Curious, he crawled closer, invading the metal-boy's personal space. Did robots even  _have_  personal space? Well, whatever! "Open your mouth for me, 'kay?"

He tilted his head. "Why?"

"'Cause you sound kinda like you have a sore throat. I wanna make sure you're not sick!"

"But I'm…" The synthetic voice trailed off, any further protests left unsaid, and he followed the command.

Luffy peered into his mouth, eyeing it and humming. He nodded to himself, brows furrowed and face serious. "I have no clue!"

His eyes widened slightly. "You… don't?"

"Nu-uh! Shishishi!" He grinned, sitting back on his haunches and poking at the metal body curiously. It seemed… a lot less eerie now that he was awake and moving. Less… dead. "I'll have Sabo look at it. He's good with robot stuff."

He nodded. "Understood. Sabo is…"

"My brother, silly!" Luffy exclaimed with a giggle. "He's the one who's been patching you up. You were all old and… broken 'n stuff. And now you're getting better! He's like… like… like a doctor for metal people!"

The android seemed to consider that, looking down at himself, his eyes focusing on the new coat of paint, then the patches made to his arms and joints—some of the things the blond brother had already gotten to repairing. "He… fixed me?"

"Mhmm! Ah, I helped too! See?" He grabbed one of the other boy's hands and pulled it in front of his face, pointing to a finger where a tiny, brown bandaged was placed over a small dent yet to be repaired. "Shishishi!"

"I…" The android started at it curiously before looking up at Luffy with a mixed expression of confusion and gratitude. "Thank… you…"

"You're welcome, shishishi!" And then suddenly the broad grin vanished into a pout. "I tried to make it feel better but I dunno 'bout robot people…"

"It…" He didn't seem to know how to reply to that. "It… feels better…"

Immediately the child's face brightened, "Really?"

"…Really."

Luffy hummed a tune happily, about to speak—when thunder crashed throughout the house, shaking the foundation, and he found himself pressed against the cold body of the other, hugging him tightly around the waist and squeezing his eyes shut tight. He really didn't like storms.

After a few moments he slowly released his new friend, peeking cautiously at the window, noticing how the earlier overcast had darkened further into angry clouds, raindrops assaulting the glass relentlessly, and he let out a whine of disappointment. He never let go of the other, though. "…I hope Sabo gets home soon. Dun' like thunder. It's scary."

"…Yeah. It's… scary." The android tilted his head. "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That," he repeated, pointing out the window.

"The rain?" Luffy waited for the other's nod of confirmation. "It's water. From the sky."

"I can see that…"

"You dunno what rain is?"

The android shook his head. "I wasn't turned on often. I was a prototype, so I was just used in trials."

Luffy pouted. "That's not very nice… We won't do that. Promise. Sabo treats his friends reeeeally nicely. He won't turn you off when ya dun' wanna be."

The other blinked, cocking his head to the side as he stared down at Luffy, who was still pressed firmly against his metal chest. "You're a strange little human."

Luffy looked up at him with a slight scowl. "'M not little." He yawned. "'N you're a weird robot man… but that's okay. Robots are cool."

"I believe that is because of the material I—"

"Not  _that_  kind of cool, silly." He snuggled closer against the other, his eyes slipping shut. "Like… awesome 'n stuff."

The boy started to drift off, suddenly feeling… quite content, with his new company so close. It was… nice, having someone there. And when he felt the icy touch of a metallic arm lightly wrap around his back, he only found himself slipping away that much faster.

* * *

The android stared down at the human, his eyes as soft as his limited expressions would allow. He was… a strange boy, but that wasn't a bad thing. Talking to him… it wasn't so bad. How odd.

It was a while before the front door opened, the sounds of the rain increasing in volume for a brief few moments before once more being muffled by the slab of wood, a tall man slipping in sopping wet, shaking off his shoes and hat and wringing out his coattail. He was blond, and he seemed to belong there, so… that was Sabo, then.

The man looked up after carelessly abandoning his wet—and very much broken—umbrella against the wall, and he eyed the machine curiously before grinning. "So your battery's charged?"

He nodded stiffly.

"Good to hear. Was worried the one I bought wouldn't hold a charge… It kept dying last night. Oh!" He pulled a box out from behind that he'd placed on the floor when he came in, showing it to the other. "Your new leg came in. How about we fit it tomorrow?"

"…Understood."

The blond blinked. "Your voice sounds off… I'll take a look at it in a bit."

So the child was right.

Sabo's eyes fell to Luffy and the smile softened. "Was he any trouble?"

"No," he answered readily.

"Good. I suppose he must have taken a liking to you, if he fell asleep. He hates being alone, you know."

"He told me."

Chuckling, Sabo knelt down beside him, placing the box at his side. "Thank you—for watching him. He gets lonely. But anyway, I'll have you good as new by tomorrow, Ace."

_Ace?_

The elder brother clapped him on the shoulder, his grin almost rivalling his sibling's. "Your name. Welcome to the family."


End file.
